Best Buy Is Bigger And Better Than Ever!

I received an email last week about the new format of my local Best Buy store. Since Jason’s been looking for outdoor speakers for our new deck, I figured it was a great excuse to make the trip to check things out!

I don’t know who those random people are (sorry random customers!), but I wasn’t really paying attention to them when we pulled up to the store. The blue front and classic Best Buy sign was what really caught my eye. I love that you can’t miss it!

Best Buy is kind of near and dear to my heart. Once upon a long time ago, I worked for their corporate office.

I also lived down the block from their original flagship store in Richfield/Edina back in the day. One of the reasons I love the company is because they’ve chosen to stay local, even as they grew to be an international electronics powerhouse. Woohoo for supporting the local economy! Not only that, but they also truly support diversity. You can’t even imagine how excited I was when I found out my friend’s parents were invited to speak at the corporate office about GLTB issues. To me, that was more exciting than some of the employee concerts they put on in the parking lot.

Anyway, back to the store. Sorry, I’ll try to talk less and use more photos to show you what’s new and exciting about it. The theme you’ll see running through the whole store is that it is VERY customer-focused. They’ve redesigned the Geek Squad support and Customer Service areas to make it even easier for visitors to ask questions and get assistance.

The product displays are improved, too. More products are out so you can touch, feel, and play with them. There’s also great signage, so you can read information about the products they have out.

Take the GPS section, for example. I love that the aisle is clearly marked for Car Navigation, and that they have so many different ones out on display AND functional so you can compare the features yourself instead of just reading a description on a box.

The “virtual environments” (my term, not theirs) is probably my favorite thing, though. They’ve set up spaces that look like real homes. Well, ok, maybe they’re fancier homes than most people have, but still, you can see how appliances would fit in your kitchen.

Or where a TV would fit in your family room.

Jason and I are in the process of finishing our basement, so this area was probably the most exciting for him. He was able to check out all the advances in speaker technology and wall mounting for televisions in one place. Plus, since it was set up like a real house, it helped him visualize ideas for our space.

I wish I had brought a video camera so I could show you guys all of the store. It’s super easy to navigate thanks to a U-shaped sign in the air that lets you know which department is where, no matter where you are in the store. They have staff everywhere to help answer questions, and they’ve also added cash registers in different areas, so that if you’re just running in for, say, a laptop power cord, you can check out right at the computer accessory area without having to wait in line at the front of the store.

Of course, it wouldn’t be much fun if I told you all about the fancy store redesign if you didn’t get a chance to check it out yourself. Best Buy has generously provided $25 gift cards for me to give away to FIVE lucky readers!

I love best buy! They have great deals and are very helpful. best thing about them is the customer service. they are always willing to help and seem to know what they are talking about and if they dont know they get someone who does

Love shopping at BestBuy because I know that I can take all day if I want and the hubby won’t be mad, because he could be there for the same timing if not longer and not be “bored” or sick of looking, testing, and buying.

I love that the people are so helpful! When hubby and I decided to exchange our new tv for a bigger one, we went to the store in town that had one left. The clerk couldn’t find the bigger tv at first, but he grabbed another employee and together they scoured their stock. About 20 minutes later, he came out of the back with the TV on a cart for us!

I love their prices! It’s usually the lowest where I live. BTW I think our store may already have had the redesign and they had warm cookies out in the kitchen area. I think they cooked them there, how cool is that!

I love their knowledgeable staff. I picked out a microwave at Bestbuy on my own and it wasn’t very good. So I returned it and asked a worker at Besybuy and he directed me to a different microwave. I have had it for years and it is still working great. Thanks!

I never really ‘loved’ shopping at Best Buy :/ Ours is located in a bad spot of town (right after the highway enters/exits) and it’s just really bad traffic..and every time I go there, there’s never enough people and/or no one really cares. I am really excited about the changes they have made (seems long overdue). So I hope now with all the positive changes, I’ll see the inside of the store more 😀

I like finding so many choices in one spot! When we replaced our laptop there were so many more to choose from than most other stores and the employees were very helpful and knew what they were selling. They answered every question and I got a great new computer.

Deals!! Every now and again, they have the best deals… like recently, I went in to pick up the Happy Nappers I had bought online for $2.99 each and found Mater from Cars and Thomas the Tank Engine Pillow Pets for just $2.99!!

I like that it’s a one stop shop of sorts. I can get toothbrush heads for my fiancee’s toothbrush, as well as cleaner and new heads for his razor, computer games for me, video games for both of us, and small appliances all at the same store! I go often for one item, but there are many times I go in and get a few different kinds of items. For a techie house hold it’s a great store!